


Murder in Pittsburgh

by balrogtweety



Category: Bones (TV), Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: Crossover, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-12
Updated: 2012-09-12
Packaged: 2017-11-14 02:53:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/510548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/balrogtweety/pseuds/balrogtweety
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What would happen if there was a charred body found after the bombing of Babylon?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Murder in Pittsburgh

Summary: 

What would have happened if there was a charred body found after the bombing of Babylon? This is also a crossover with the show Bones.

 

 

MURDER IN PITTSBRUGH

 

Brian got into the service car that would take him to the airport. He was going to Australia but along the way, he was half listening to the radio when an announcement picked his ears.

“This is just in from our news room: There has been an explosion at Babylon, a local gay club where a political fundraiser was underway tonight. Authorities fear there were many injuries possibly fatalities. Police say there has been no word as to the explosion. Singer, Cindi Lauper was performing at the benefit. We will update you further as news comes in.” 

When Brian heard this, he told the driver to turn around. As he headed to Babylon, Brian was petrified that Justin was inside. Justin told him earlier that he was planning on going to the benefit. The service car came to a halt and the ad exec got out.

What he saw before him was total chaos: ambulances, fire trucks and police were trying to contain the scene. Brian walked past people looking for someone in particular but couldn’t find him outside.

As he searched the crowd, Jennifer came up to him.

“Brian,” she cried frantically. “I don’t know where Justin is. I haven’t seen him. He told me he was going to be here but I haven’t seen him. Find him please!”

“I will,” Brian replied with tears in his eyes.

Brian desperately searched outside first thinking that Justin was hurt. He came across Carl Horvath who was Chief of Police. When the Stockwell fiasco was over, Mayor Deekins hired Carl as Chief of Police.

“Carl, have you seen Justin?” Brian asked.

“No, Brian I haven’t,” Carl replied. “I’ve been to busy trying to keep the crowds back and getting news from the firemen.”

“He told me he was going to be here,” Brian shouted.

“Brian, calm down,” Carl reassured him, placing his hand on Brian’s shoulder. “We will find him.”

Brian took a deep breath and exhaled. He knew if he was not calm, he was going to break down. He then ran into Babylon as people were making their way to safety and looked around. What he saw floored him. He put his hand over his mouth to squelch the stench.

Wires were sparking all over the place; smoke filled the air; debris and blood littered the floor. While coughing, Brian was walking around bodies that the firefighters were covering up with cloths. From the cloths that covered the bodies, Brian couldn’t ascertain that Justin wasn’t in the building. 

“Justin!” Brian screamed above the noise.

He then came upon Mikey.

“Mikey,” Brian shouted above the noise, “Are you hurt?” Brian noticed a cut above his eye.

“No,” Mikey hesitated, “I’m okay. Have you seen my mother?”

“No,” Brian answered him. He then saw Emmett. “Have you seen Justin?”

Emmett just stared at Brian and shook his head.

Brian then went around looking for Justin when he came upon a burned body on the floor. He had a horrified look on his face. He then looked up and saw the one person that came out of his past. There before him was Seeley Booth. He walked over and hugged him before he broke down.

************

Seeley told the squints and Dr. Brennan at the Jeffersonian that he was taking a two-week vacation. His relationship with Bones was different from any other. They both raised their daughter together in a big house but the relationship they had, worked for them. The Jeffersonian just received a shipment of bones from a dig in South America so Bones decided to stay. She told Seeley to go to Pittsburgh to see Brian. 

He was going to surprise his best friend, Brian Kinney. They both went to Carnegie Melon. Brian took advertising courses and Seeley took criminal sciences. Seeley ended up going into the army after graduation and Brian got a job with the Ryder Agency. After his four years, Seeley joined the FBI in Washington. They kept in contact through the years.

Seeley just arrived in Pittsburgh. He was driving in his rented car when he heard about the bomb on the radio. He knew that Brian purchased Babylon so he raced to the scene. He showed his ID to the police to gain access.

He stood and looked around at the inside of the building that reminded him of places he saw before. Seeley walked around looking at the victims of the bombing until he came across the person he was looking for. Seeley hardly recognized the person that he saw before his eyes.

Seeley saw a man who was devastated. Soot covered his face; dust was in his hair and on his jacket and tears left tracks down his cheeks. The look on Brian’s face was as if someone broke his heart. This was so unlike Brian. When he saw the look, he knew something was wrong. 

“Brian,” Seeley said as he took Brian into his arms.

Brian started sobbing as his friend comforted him. Seeley was like a brother to him. This one man could understand what he went through as a kid. Seeley knew that Justin made an impact on Brian’s life. From what Brian told him, Justin fell in love.

“What’s wrong?” Seeley comforted his friend.

“I can’t find Justin!” Brian wiped his eyes. “Is that him?” he asked as he pointed to the body on the floor.

“I don’t know but we’ll find him,” Seeley explained trying to consol his best friend. “I’m on vacation but this clearly is a federal crime. I’ll find out where Justin is and we’ll get your man back.” 

“My Sunshine,” Brian whispered. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to visit,” Seeley began. “I had nothing planned for two weeks so I thought I would visit my best friend. Now I’m here to work, it looks like. I’ll find out where Justin is and who did this. I promise.”

“Okay, find him, please,” Brian pleaded.

“Go with your friends and let me go do my job.”

Emmett walked up to the two men. He looked at Brian then the other man.

“My, my, my,” Emmett flamboyantly said, “who is this delicious man?”

“Seeley Booth, FBI,” Seeley said as he pulled out his badge. “Friend of Brian’s. Can you take Brian somewhere so I can find out what happened here? I need to call someone to help.”

“I’ll take him to my place,” Emmett replied as he handed Seeley his business card. “It’s more private.”

“Fine, I’ll call when I get done,” Seeley told him as he pocketed the business card.

Emmett put his hand behind Brian and led him to his car. He parked it far enough away so that he could walk to the club and check out the men.

Booth showed his badge to the fire inspector and began talking about the scene. The inspector showed Booth the burned body. After their talk, he pulled out his phone.

“This is Special Agent Seeley Booth, badge number 22705. I’m with DC FBI and I would like to have a liaison here at Babylon on Liberty Avenue. I have deemed this a federal case because of a bomb. I also have a burned body that is unrecognizable. OK, I’ll wait here.”

Then he made another call. 

“Bones, I need you in Pittsburgh,” Seeley explained. “We have a burned body they can’t identify. I’ll have a car waiting for you.” He began to explain the scene.

“I’ll be there shortly.” Bones packed up her supplies. She told Cam that she was on her way to Pittsburgh and explained the situation. The forensic anthropologist told her crew to expect a body that she would ship back. Bones then placed a call to the nanny who took care of their daughter and told her where she was going. She always had clothing in her office in cases like this. Bones always kept a suitcase packed for a week.

Bones knew that if she were to get to Pittsburgh fast, she would have to charter a plane. Being that she was a published author, money was no trouble. Upon exiting the plane, Bones saw a police car waiting for her.

Booth went back to the fire inspector and told him that the FBI in Pittsburgh put him in charge of the case because it became a federal crime when there was a bomb involved. He then told the fire inspector that he wanted the scene confined around the body because he had someone coming in to examine the body. The fire investigator got the department to cover the burned body and taped it off so as not to disturb the evidence. 

“Dr. Temperance Brennan, forensic anthropologist. Special Agent Seeley Booth is expecting me.” Bones showed her ID to the police. They led her to the body that was covered. With her, she had her evidence kit. She was also in a rubber suit so that no evidence would stick to her clothing.

“Glad you came,” Booth said. “The body is beyond recognition. We dealt with the scene.” 

Bones put her kit down, put on rubber gloves and began to examine the bones. She noticed that the body was face down. “It’s a male; early twenties, debris embedded in the skull and the back suggest an explosion. It looks like he was pushed from the back with him ending up in this position.” She examined the body further and came across something. It was a gun tucked into what would have been his pants. Bones looked up at Booth. “Booth, I found a gun. Other than that I can’t tell anything else until I get this body shipped to the institute.” Bones grabbed the gun and put it in an evidence bag, handing it to Booth.

“All right,” Booth replied as he took the gun. He talked to the other FBI agent assigned to the case and got his team to ship the body while handing over the gun for evidence.

Bones gathered up evidence into plastic bags. She got a container from the FBI forensics team to ship the evidence to the Jeffersonian. Bones called her team.

“I’m sending you some evidence and a burned body of a man,” she told her group. “It should be there in a couple of hours.”

“Okay, Temperance,” Angela replied. “I’ll work up a facial reconstruction to find out who he is and I’ll tell Cam.”

“Thanks,” Bones replied as she closed her phone. She went around the building inside to figure out what happened. As she gathered more evidence, she noticed that the blast was more confined to the bar area and told Booth.

“Yeah, I saw that also,” Booth said. “It looks like something was set off here and combined with the alcohol, the blast was bigger. This would account for the injuries. Bones, how is it that the unidentified body was found forty feet from the bar and it was charred?” Booth questioned.

“I can’t tell you yet, but I think someone could have either spilled their drink over him or someone doused the body with alcohol to make sure that it caught fire,” Bones replied. 

“Do you remember that case we worked on with the Diplomat from Columbia?” Bones asked.

“Yeah,” Booth replied.

“Well, the one thing that Hodgins did was an experiment with Zack on how things got imbedded into the body we had. They used extra alcohol for the blast and that was how we found the body in the chandelier. It showed how the body went as far as it did.”

“So, you’re saying that the bomb was set amongst the liquor for the blast to be as big as it was,” Booth suggested.

“Yeah,” Bones replied. “I’ll ask Hodgins to compare the blast they did with this blast because of the debris embedded in the body. Until then I’ll know more when the test results are back. Who owns this club? Has he been checked out?”

“My best friend from Carnegie Melon, Brian Kinney, owns the club. It’s a gay club for dancing. He would never do this. Brian’s trying to find his boyfriend, Justin Taylor, who hasn’t shown up yet.” Booth was worried for Brian.

“Are you worried that could be his body?” Bones asked.

“I hope not,” Booth replied. “I’ve talked to people and some told me they never seen Justin here and some said that he was here.”

“How do you know, Mr. Kinney?” Bones question him.

“We met in high school,” Booth began. “He was on the soccer team and I was on the football team. We trained together to improve our sport. Then when we got into Carnegie, we roomed together and stayed friends. When he told me he was gay, I accepted him. It was never a big deal.”

“Can we go and talk to him?” Bones asked.

“Yeah,” Booth replied as he led her out of the building after she was finished gathering evidence. He gave his number to the FBI agent on duty then phoned Emmett that he was on his way.

As they both exited the building, a blond man came up to them carrying a knapsack.

“Aren’t you Seeley Booth?” the blond asked as he recognized him.

“Yes and you are?” Booth asked back.

“Justin Taylor,” Justin replied. “Where’s Brian? He’s not hurt is he?” Justin wasn’t thinking right when he saw the devastation of the area. He forgot that Brian was on his way to Australia. 

“I’m glad to see you,” Booth answered as he hugged the young man. “I have someone who will be glad you’re alive.”

“Take me to him,” Justin whispered knowing what Seeley was going to say.

They all got into the car that Seeley rented until he could get a car from the Bureau. After a ten-minute drive, they pulled up to Emmett’s building.

“Brian’s with Emmett?” Justin asked.

“Emmett took him to his place to get him away from Babylon,” Seeley answered. “Brian was not himself when he was looking for you. You better call your mom to tell her you’re all right.”

“I will after I see Brian,” Justin replied. He told the other two what happened to him. He said that his car broke down on his way to the benefit and it took him almost two hours to get to Babylon. His phone died after he called a tow truck.

They made their way to Emmett’s apartment and Seeley knocked. When the door opened, there stood Emmett, shocked.

“Oh my god, you’re okay,” Emmett squealed as he hugged Justin.

“Where’s Brian?” Justin asked as he made his way inside, putting down his knapsack.

Brian sat on the sofa with a blank stare on his face. The last time he saw Justin, he was putting up posters for the benefit that would stop Prop 14. The look on his face was as if he lost his best friend. When he heard the door open, he stood by the sofa and stared at the one person who meant everything to him. He watched as Justin moved towards him. His vision blurred as tears filled his eyes and then made their way down his cheeks.

“Its okay, Brian,” Justin whimpered as he consoled him by taking him into his arms. “I’m alive.”

“I was so fuckin’ scared,” Brian sniveled as he grabbed the blond. “I tried to call you on your cell but you wouldn’t answer. All I could think was ‘please, don’t let anything happen to him’.” Brian then looked into Justin’s eyes. He brought the young man closer and whispered in his ear, “I love you.”

The words that Justin was waiting for came out of Brian’s mouth. 

Brian held Justin back and began to kiss him. His man was alive! That was all that mattered to him.

Emmett led Booth and Bones into the apartment and offered them coffee. They sat at the kitchen table watching the two lovers confirm their love for one another. Booth was happy for his friend. When Emmett joined them, Booth started the questions.

“What do you know about what happened tonight?” Booth asked.

“All I know on my part,” Emmett began to say, “was that Cindi Lauper was on stage singing her heart out and then there was a blast. It threw me to the floor. When I woke up, my friend Michael Novotny was pulling me up. I looked around and saw the devastation of the place and began to panic.”

“So you don’t know where the blast came from?” Bones asked as she took a sip of her coffee.

“I had my back to the bar so it must have come from behind me. I was worried about my friends so I began to look for them. Justin was not in the building. Where was he?” 

“He told us that his car broke down on his way to Babylon,” Booth replied. 

“Thank god for miracles,” Emmett whimpered as he dabbed his eyes with a hankie.

After their kiss, Brian gathered Justin up in his arms. Somehow, he was not letting Justin go anywhere for the time being. He was never going to let Justin out of his sight.

“So what is the story behind the two of you?” Emmett asked trying to change the subject.

“What do you mean?” Bones retorted.

“Well, since you both sat down, I have noticed the quick glances each of you has for the other,” Emmett replied. “Now I might be a nelly queen but I know when two people are in love.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Bones replied looking at both men.

“It’s a figure of speech for some gays,” Booth said taking Bones’ hand. “You’re right, Emmett, I love this girl. She is, by the way, my lover and the mother of my daughter. We are also partners when it comes to investigative work involving decomposed bodies.”

Emmett shuttered at that statement. “Does that mean that there is a body nobody can identify?”

“Yes and until we now more about what happened at the club then right now all I have to go on is that body we shipped to the Jeffersonian.” Booth looked at the lovers on the sofa. He saw the love between them. “So until then, we should get a room in a hotel.”

“I will not hear of it. You can stay with me,” Emmett exclaimed. “I have another bedroom that you can use if you don’t mind staying with a gay man.”

“I don’t,” Booth replied. “Brian was my roommate in college. Emmett, I heard Brian call Justin ‘Sunshine’ tonight. Why is that?”

“There’s a waitress on Liberty Avenue that called him Sunshine when he first smiled at her. It just stuck.”

“This would be great to get to know this city as well as your friend, Seeley.” Bones seconded the motion. 

“Then that’s settled,” Emmett replied then looked at Seeley. “You go get your stuff from the car and I’ll ready the bed. I also have another room for those two. I don’t think they should be left alone.”

“I agree to both,” Seeley said. “I’ll go get the bags while you sit here.”

“No,” Emmett replied happily, “she can help me with getting the room ready. Since you both will be staying here, she can ready the room to her liking. You both won’t have to worry about meals because I am a caterer. You can both sample my food for parties that I have booked. I want to try out some new recipes.”

“So we’re you’re guinea pigs?” Bones asked.

“Yes and by the way, what is your first name?” Emmett asked as he led the woman to the room. He somehow knew that this woman would have an unusual name.

“My name is Temperance but you can call me Tempy,” Bones replied.

“Oh, I love it!” Emmett exclaimed, clapping. He grabbed some blankets and pillows then they headed to the spare room.

They both got the bed ready along with the other room for the lovers then sat at the kitchen table. Seeley came back with two suitcases as well as a suit bag and put them in the room that Emmett indicated. All three sat down and had more coffee after Emmett brought out pastries for them to nibble on. 

Meanwhile, Brian and Justin were sitting on the sofa, enjoying the fact that both of them were together. Brian was just happy that Justin was alive and not the body found on the floor of the dance club. The ad man never let the blond go. As long as he was touching him, Brian knew that Justin was safe and alive. They kissed to reaffirm they were both there.

Emmett made his way to the lovers on the sofa.

“I have a room ready for you both,” Emmett calmly said as he sat on the coffee table. “I will not take no for an answer. You both need someone around for a while after what you both went through. I gave Seeley and Tempy a room so you both can have the other.”

“Thanks, Em,” Justin stated. He got up from the sofa and held out his hand to Brian. “Can Brian use your shower?”

“Sure go right ahead. There’s a shower off the bedroom and towels there too. Take care of him Justin.” Em placed a light kiss on Justin’s temple. “I’ll get some sweats and a t-shirt for Brian to wear tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Em, I will,” Justin replied. Then he placed his call to his mother when he saw Seeley come over.

Seeley saw the gesture and walked over to Brian. He stood before the ad man. Seeley watched as Brian rose and hugged him.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Brian whispered as he pulled away from Seeley. “I want you to find out who did this to my club and those that died.”

“I want to talk to the two of you tomorrow,” Seeley stated. “The sooner we find out what happened, the sooner we can identify the body we found in the fire.”

“W-What body?” Justin stuttered.

“We found a burned body on the floor forty feet from the bar.” Seeley looked at Justin. “Now, why don’t you two get some sleep? Tomorrow is going to be a rough day.”

The two lovers followed Em to one of the spare rooms they set up for them. Justin got Brian out of his clothes and got into the shower with him. Brian was numb from his experience so Justin washed him and then himself. They got into bed with their shorts on. As long as they were touching, they knew that the other was safe. They laid on the bed with Justin’s back to Brian’s chest. Brian put his arms around Justin and never let him go while placing light kisses on Justin’s neck.

Em made his way back to his guests. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Then Emmett broke the silence.

“What’s this about a body?” he asked.

“One was found on the floor,” Seeley answered. “We won’t know anything until the morning.”

“Okay,” Em replied then changed the subject. “I’m going to bed to see about some sleep. Goodnight.”

“Yeah,” Tempy replied. “Goodnight and thanks for the room.”

“My pleasure.” Emmett made his way to his room and shut the door.

“Let’s go to bed, honey,” Seeley whispered. He led them to the room and closed the door. 

Tempy got out of her clothes and into a nightie before she got into bed.

“Tempy, I know you know something,” Seeley said as he got out of his clothes and lay beside his partner.

“I didn’t want to say anything but the body said something to me. I was looking at the right arm of the victim and I saw something but I want the team to tell me that I’m right.”

“What did you see?” Seeley asked as he rose on one elbow.

“I saw grinding of the socket on the upper arm of the shoulder and at the elbow. I can’t be sure but I want the team to tell me what it is. I don’t want to second guess my way of thinking.” Tempy looked at Seeley lovingly.

“I agree,” Seeley replied. “Besides, in Liberty Avenue, everyone kind of knows who you are.”

Seeley leaned over and kissed her. It was a passionate one that they knew they wouldn’t be able to finish being that they were in the company of gay men. Seeley knew from experience with Brian that he hated the sound that heteros make while making love.

“I don’t want to go any further,” Seeley stated. “I want to make love to you but we’ll wait. We should get some sleep to be fresh in the morning for the evidence that will come back from the lab.”

“You’re right, hon,” Tempy agreed.

Seeley lay on his back and brought Tempy close to him. He loved the way she fit against his body, as he knew a long time ago that they were meant for each other.

 

Chapter 2

The next morning, Emmett was up early to get breakfast ready for everyone. He didn’t mind doing the work because people depended on him. Emmett would help anyone in need. He heard a door open and had a coffee ready for that person.

Booth came out of his bedroom in a suit. Knowing that he was now on a case, he would dress the role. He made his way to the kitchen and watched as Emmett handed him a cup of coffee.

“Morning, Emmett,” Seeley said then took a sip of his coffee. “Wow, this is great coffee.”

“Morning, Seeley. Thanks, it’s all in the chicory. Where’s Tempy?”

“She’ll be out in a minute,” Booth replied. “I need to call the office and find out if there is anything more on the club. Where are Brian and Justin?”

“Still sleeping,” Em replied as he put toast on the table. “I thought I would leave them sleep more since what happened.”

“I agree,” Tempy replied as she came into the room. “It would have been quite a shock to the system to hear that his boyfriend would have been in the club. His adrenaline level would have been so high that his way of thinking would not have been rational.”

Emmett looked at her as if she was crazy.

Booth saw the look and started to laugh. “She always talks likes this. I’m not making excuses for you, honey, but Em, when she begins to talk like this, she goes into work mode.”

“No Seeley, I should talk more like everyone else so that they can understand me. I wouldn’t want people to think that I’m smarter than everyone else.”

“That’s okay, sweetie,” Em replied. “It is a breath of fresh air to hear someone talk like that.”

Just then, Justin came out of the other room. He yawned as he scratched his head. “Morning.”

“Morning, sweetie,” Em said as he handed over a coffee to Justin and one to Tempy. “How are you?”

“I’m fine but I think that Brian will sleep longer. When he realized that I was alive, he wouldn’t let me go. It was like he was reaffirming that I was still here.”

Just then, Brian came out of the bedroom. He came up behind Justin and wrapped his arms around his waist. “Morning,” Brian said as he kissed Justin’s neck.

Justin turned in Brian’s arms. “Why didn’t you sleep longer?”

“I turned over and you were gone,” Brian whispered.

“Hey, Brian, how are you?” Seeley asked as they all sat down. He watched as Brian took a seat and grabbed Justin to sit on his lap.

“Fine,” Brian replied. He put his arms around Justin again.

Just then, Seeley got a call.

“I need to take this,” Seeley replied leaving the table and going back to his room for privacy.

Another noise pierced the apartment.

“What is that?” Em jumped.

“That’s my video conferencing computer,” Tempy said. “I need to take that.” She left the table to go to the bedroom for privacy.

Emmett placed scrambled eggs, pancakes and juice on the table. “Dig in while it’s hot.”

Justin took a couple of pancakes and some eggs. He poured syrup over them and began to eat. Justin fed Brian bits of his breakfast.

Seeley and Tempy came back from their calls together. They both dug into the food set before them.

“We have some news about the body,” stated Seeley looking at Tempy. He watched her nod. “Our forensic artist came up with a face from the body. Angela confirmed that his name was Ethan Gold. Do you know him?”

“Ethan?” Justin shouted. “What the hell was he doing there? He was supposed to be in New York City for a solo performance at Carnegie Hall.”

“How come you know where he was supposed to be?” Brian asked his lover. “When did you know Ian’s itinerary?”

“Ethan,” Justin emphasized, “told me where he was going to be because he didn’t have a contact person just in case something happened to him. What did happen?”

“According to my staff, Mr. Gold had drugs in his system. Ecstasy was one of them. There was also a blow to the back of the head suggesting that someone came up behind him and hit him over the head. They also found that there was alcohol in his system as well as all over the front of his clothing.”

“Why would Ethan have drugs and alcohol in his system?” Justin asked. “He never drank anything more than wine and he didn’t like drugs.”

“Did you know Ethan Gold, Justin?” Seeley questioned.

Justin looked at Brian and then at Seeley. 

“When Justin and I broke up,” Brian began, “Justin lived with Ethan.” Brian, somehow, didn’t want to say anymore.

“I broke up with Ethan when he cheated on me and I went back to Brian,” Justin replied. “After Brian and I got back together, Ethan wanted me to know where he went when he went on recitals. I didn’t want to tell Brian because he would have gotten mad that I was still involved with him.”

“Damn right I would have been mad,” Brian stated. “He cheated on you with a fan. I wanted to protect you.”

“Where were you Brian?” Seeley asked. “I have to know because of the investigation.”

“I was on my way to Australia,” Brian said. “It has the biggest Gay Marti Gras ever. When I heard on the radio about the bombing, I got the driver to turn around.”

“We also found glass in the back of the head,” Tempy said.

“But who would kill Ethan?” Justin questioned. He turned to face Brian and wrapped his arms around Brian’s neck, crying silent tears.

Brian comforted Justin knowing that the young man wouldn’t want to see someone hurt.

Seeley watched Brian and Justin knowing that neither one was responsible. He looked at Bones to confer with his eyes and saw her reaction. She was thinking the same thing.

“How did you know it was him?” Justin asked through tears.

“Well,” Bones began, “our artist, Angela, is very good at drawing up a person from bones. We also found out that he had wear and tear of his shoulder and elbow on the right arm, which means that he was a violinist. It was confirmed from Pittsburgh Institute of Fine Arts that he was a student from there.”

“Who would want to kill him?” Justin asked again.

“That’s why we’re here,” Seeley replied. “Bones and I need to get to the scene to go over things we might have missed last night.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” Brian asked.

“No,” Seeley replied. “You stay here with Justin. We will let you know what happens when we get back. I need to get to the FBI to get a vehicle.”

“I need you here,” Justin whispered looking at Brian. 

Brian gazed into Justin’s eyes and read his feelings. He knew that Justin needed him and he needed Justin.

“Okay,” Brian stated as he still gazed into Justin’s eyes. He then lightly kissed him.

Booth and Bones went to do their business and Emmett cleaned up breakfast.

“How about you two go to the sofa and relax and I’ll clean up,” Emmett said as he started to clean up.

The two lovers got up and went to the sofa. Brian leaned into the corner. “Come here,” Brian said as he brought up his arm. When Justin moved into his arms, Brian brought him in close.

“What’s going on Brian?” Justin whispered against his chest.

“When I went into Babylon last night,” Brian began, “and I couldn’t find you, I got so fuckin’ scared. When I searched for you, I saw a body on the floor. When I looked up and saw Seeley, I lost it.”

“I’m here,” Justin replied as he looked up into Brian’s face. “You know that I love you and I’m fine.”

“Justin,” Brian began, “I want to tell you something but it’s hard. After what I saw and heard last night, I thought that…” Somehow, he couldn’t finish what he was saying.

“Brian, I’m right here. I’m alive.”

“Yeah, that’s what makes this harder,” Brian stated.

“I know that you love me,” Justin confessed. “You don’t have to tell me. Just because we’re not together doesn’t mean that I don’t love you. The things you have shown me these few years, I would have never learned from someone else.”

“I do love you,” Brian whispered. “It wasn’t until I thought I lost you that I realized I love you.”

Justin looked into Brian’s eyes and started kissing him. Their kiss turned passionate.

Emmett turned to the table to wipe it when he heard Brian’s statement. He smiled knowing all along that Brian loved Justin. When he started to see them kissing, he cleared his throat.

“If you two want some privacy, I can make myself scarce. It seems like the other two will be out for a while. You both can stay here as long as you want. I won’t be kicking you out anytime soon.”

Justin stopped what he was doing and blushed. He turned to Emmett and nodded.

“Brian, give me your keys and I’ll get some clothes for you,” Em said. 

Brian grabbed his keys off the coffee table and gave them to Em.

Emmett got his stuff together. “Tootles.” He then left the two lovers alone.

“Brian, I want you to tell me what’s going on,” Justin stated.

“What do you mean?”

“Since last night, you haven’t been yourself. You’ve become clingy, you’ve hardly said two words to Seeley who has known you for a long time, you told me you love me and we haven’t had sex since we broke up. You were never that person before last night. So what gives?” Justin turned to look at Brian.

“I don’t know,” Brian whispered. “Something happened to me last night that changed me.” He bowed his head not wanting to look at Justin.

“I think it was fear that changed you, Brian,” Justin replied. “When you couldn’t find me last night and heard about the body, you thought it was me. It scared you because of what we have become.”

“When you came into my life, I was looking for a change. I am in my prime. You brought youth to my life. Since the night I met you, I can’t seem to get you out of my system. I knew that there was somebody for me out there and it was you. I wanted to deny my feelings toward you but you wouldn’t give up on us. I didn’t even know there was an ‘us’. Nobody can keep up with my stamina but you.”

“You know, Brian,” Justin began, “when I saw Daphne the next day I told her I ‘saw the face of God and his name is Brian Kinney’. I talked about you all day to her.”

“You didn’t tell her ‘all’ about our first night, did you?” Brian asked.

“Of course I did,” Justin stated. “I tell her everything. Even when we broke up and after I broke up from Ethan, I told her everything. She understands me better than anyone.”

“I couldn’t tell Mikey all about us,” Brian said. “He wanted me to be happy but only if it was with him. There are things I haven’t told him that I told you. When you and I spent time together, I never talked to him about us. It was none of his business.”

“Brian, we had a life that both of us enjoyed. Are you saying that you want there to be an ‘us’ again?” Justin asked.

“I told you earlier that I love you, Justin. I want you to move back in with me. I don’t want to lose you again.”

“Brian, you know that I would do anything for you but are you sure? We have to be sure that things won’t go back to the way they were before. I want to move in with you but I think that this scare has you unsettled and you’re doing this to fill in that emotion.”

“I’m not unsettled!” Brian yelled then he calmed down. “I love you and I want you to move in with me.” Brian got up off the sofa and began to pace. “I will admit that I was scared and then when you showed up I was relieved. When I returned from my trip, I was going to ask you to move back in with me. I want you around for a long time.” Brian came up to Justin and took his hands into his own.

Justin rose from the sofa. “You said that the time I wanted to have sex with you raw.” Justin took Brian’s hands.

“And I was right,” Brian whispered. He brought Justin close to him and hugged him. He then led Justin into the bedroom.

They both got out of their clothing and laid in the bed. Brian was on his back and brought Justin into his arms. Brian just wanted the contact of Justin against him but his body started to betray him.

Justin laid his head on Brian’s chest. He loved the feel of Brian’s skin against his. It was then Justin felt himself get hard. He then draped his leg across Brian’s body. The blond rose his head and looked into Brian’s eyes. What he saw there shocked him. It was love. He then kissed Brian.

Brian kissed Justin back wanting to feel him. He plunged his tongue into the blond’s mouth wanting to take possession of his body. His hands roamed the alabaster skin wanting to feel his body.

Justin rolled on top of Brian and when their cocks came into contact, each of them moaned in the kiss. He rubbed himself on Brian wanting the sensation to last. The kiss lasted a few minutes until they needed air. Then Justin kissed his way down Brian’s neck until he came to a nub. Sucking on it made it hard.

Brian knew what Justin was doing and it made him moan when Justin sucked his nipple. His cock got harder than it ever did. Brian knew that he loved Justin. As his fingers reached to Justin’s hair, Brian raised his hips wanting more contact.

Justin smiled when he felt Brian raise his hips so he made his way down the sculpted body until he came across a beautiful cock. He ran his tongue up the vein until he reached the tip. Sticking his tongue into the hole made a drop of pre cum appear. Licking it up tasted like ambrosia. Justin made his way back up Brian’s body and then kissed him again.

“Brian, make love to me like you did the first time after the bashing,” Justin whispered. “Make me feel alive.”

After Justin kissed Brian and he heard the request, he nodded. Justin turned on his side while Brian moved up behind him. Brian’s cock settled in the crack of Justin’s ass. He moved his hips forward as he kissed Justin’s neck from behind. He took Justin’s cock into his hand and started stroking it making it harder.

Justin moved to the nightstand and found lube and a condom. He handed them over to Brian. Watching Brian put the lube on his fingers, he felt them go between his cheeks. He could feel Brian’s love as he entered him slowly.

As Brian readied the blonde-haired person, his cock began to leak. He put the condom on and aimed his cock to the opening, pushing inside slowly. It was like heaven to know that he was making love to Justin. His heart filled with a feeling that he never thought would be possible: love. When he was fully embedded inside Justin, Brian waited until his lover adjusted.

Justin moaned as Brian’s cock filled him. He turned a bit wanting to kiss Brian. His arm came up and pulled Brian’s lips to his. Their love for one another showed in the kiss that Brian gave him.

Brian put his hand on Justin’s hip and began slow movements as he made love to Justin. He knew at that moment that Justin was his for all time. This form of lovemaking was something knew to him. He moaned into Justin’s mouth as Justin’s tongue began making love to his. He moved his cock back into his lover and brushed up against Justin’s prostate.

The blond groaned as the cock inside him took him repeatedly. He knew he wasn’t going to last.

“Harder,” Justin whispered wanting to feel Brian.

Brian began to move inside Justin a bit harder. The brunet wanted to feel Justin as he began to move inside him with a little more power. Brian knew that with Justin’s stamina, he would be able to keep up with him. The blond was the only one that could last forever. Kissing Justin’s neck again, Brian began to move harder inside the blond, reassuring that the blond was here in his arms.

“Come with me,” Brian whispered. He knew that he was close to coming. He pumped Justin’s cock harder, feeling the juices beginning to flow from the tip.

“Yes,” Justin whispered back. He began to move his hips, feeling Brian enter him more. Placing his hand around Brian’s, he squeezed his fingers wanting the feeling of Brian’s fingers around his cock. As he moved his hips back and forth, the friction of his cock in Brian’s hand was enough that he exploded. “Ahhh.”

When Brian heard Justin and felt the cum on his fingers, he pumped harder inside Justin, exploding into the condom.

“Yes!” Brian yelled. He stopped moving as he watched Justin turn his head and he kissed him. Their tongues dueled until their hearts beat as one. “I love you,” Brian whispered.

“I love you, too,” Justin breathed.

Brian pulled out of Justin and then took off the condom. He leaned over to get a Kleenex to clean them up. When he was finished, Brian laid on his back and brought Justin into his arms. This is where he wanted to be for the rest of his life. He would keep the blond safe and warm.

Justin nuzzled his face into Brian’s neck wanting to feel. The events of the night before were enough to make his love for Brian stronger than ever. Something told him that Brian would never kick him off the Kinney cliff again. Maybe it was the way that Brian made love to him.

“Brian, were you serious about us moving into together?” Justin asked.

“Yes I was,” Brian replied as he raised Justin’s face to his. “After thinking that I almost lost you, I don’t want to lose you ever again. I would rather die than to lose you again.” Brian then kissed his nose.

“I don’t want to hear you say that again, do you hear me?” Justin demanded as he rose up on his elbow. “I know what happened the night before my prom. And no, Mikey didn’t tell me. Remember, I’m onto you.”

Brian drew his lips into his mouth knowing that Justin had his way of finding out things. He nodded his head as he brought Justin’s head to his chest again. “Okay,” he murmured.

The two lovers never said another word and fell asleep after Justin pulled the blanket over the two of them.

Booth and Bones were out finding all they could about the bombing that took place at Babylon. 

Booth entered the club with Bones. After looking around at the scene with better eyes, Booth noticed Carl.

“Well, chief,” Booth began, “what’s the situation?”

“Well, there’s four dead, sixty-seven wounded, eleven of them critical,” Carl replied. “It definitely was a bomb.”

“In any case, I’m hoping to have help from you Chief,” Booth stated. “I’ll need copies of the guest list as well as the employee’s names.”

“I can get that list for you,” a well-dressed man replied.

“And you are?” Booth asked.

“I’m Ted Schmidt,” Ted replied. “I’m a friend of Brian Kinney’s and also his financial advisor. I overlook the club finances for him.”

“Seeley Booth, Special Agent, FBI. Brian’s friend from Carnegie.” Booth showed him his badge.

Bones walked around the scene taking pictures. She would send them to Angela to decipher what happened.

Bones got word from her group on how Ethan Gold was killed. She would confer with Booth on how to tell Justin later. But their main concern was who put the bomb in Babylon. They found out that a case of vodka hid the bomb, which was why the blast was great. 

The FBI in Pittsburgh came across the bomb fragments. As they were examining the evidence, they found a partial print on the timer inside. They tried to find the person but to no avail. The bomb was in such a mess that the FBI couldn’t even put it together to find out who made it. Booth suggested that they send the bomb and its fragments to the Jeffersonian to see if Hodgins could decipher the fragments of the bomb and if he could find any other prints that the FBI missed.

Two days later, Booth was questioning Mikey. He heard on Liberty Avenue that Michael Novotny didn’t like Justin Taylor right from the beginning. Booth brought Michael into the FBI to interrogate him.

“Mr. Novotny, I’m Special Agent Seeley Booth with the FBI. I’m here to investigate what happened at Babylon.” Booth took a seat opposite the man with Bones beside him. “This is Dr. Brennan of the Jeffersonian. I hear on the street that you never liked Justin Taylor from the day when he was with Brian Kinney?”

“He was the trick that never left. Justin stalked Brian whenever he could. He even got a job where my Ma worked just to see Brian.” Mikey was getting upset as he talked about Justin. He hated him from the beginning.

“How do you know Brian Kinney?” Booth asked knowing the truth.

“He’s been my best friend since high school,” Mikey whined.

Booth knew that Mikey was a whiney man. He knew that Brian was his best friend but Mikey was pathetic when it came to Brian. Booth knew that Brian saved Mikey’s ass in school from bullies and somehow Mikey became clingy.

“You do a comic book together with Mr. Taylor?” Booth asked as he flipped through the file before him.

“Yeah,” Mikey began, “we created a gay comic with Brian Kinney being the hero. We have done two issues already.”

“Did you know Ethan Gold?” Bones asked. She was watching his reaction to the question and he was fidgeting.

“Yeah,” Mikey stated. “He was the one that took Justin away from Brian. I was glad when that happened. At least Brian went back to his tricking and drinking.”

“We found him dead inside the dance club,” Bones stated. “His body was burned beyond recognition.”

“What does that have to do with me?” Mikey replied nervously.

“Where were you inside the club?” Booth asked.

“I was standing near the stage.” Mikey began to get nervous.

“So you were never near the bar?” Bones questioned him.

“I did at one point go to the bar to get my husband bottled water.”

“You’re referring to Professor Ben Bruckner?”

“Yeah, we got married in Canada. When I turned to find Ben again, I went to him. It wasn’t long after that that something exploded behind me. I was thrown into the crowd.”

“So you never got a drink for yourself?” Booth inquired.

“Yes, I got a drink for myself. I don’t recall what it was.” Mikey didn’t like where these questions were going.

“Did you pass Mr. Gold?” Bones questioned.

“I don’t know,” Mikey replied. “What are you insinuating? That I was the one responsible for his death?”

“I don’t know. Did you kill him?” Bones asked.

“No!” Mikey yelled. “Why would I do that? I was happy that he broke up Brian and Justin. I would never want that piece of shit dead.”

“Why are you angry that Mr. Gold is dead?” Booth inquired. “Is it because he didn’t do as he was told?”

“Yes!” Mikey shouted again. “I knew that Justin and Brian were getting back together and I wanted Ethan to stop them but he never listened to anyone but himself.”

Bones looked to Booth and smiled. They both knew they had Michael where they wanted him as they wanted to shake him up. 

“So you threw your drink on him, walking away. Then after the explosion, you hit him over the back of the head with a bottle and pushed his body into the flames on the floor so his body burned.” Booth watched Michael’s reaction.

“Yes, no. I want a lawyer.” Mikey knew that he was in deep shit when he realized what he just said. He crossed his arms in front of himself in defiance.

“Michael Novotny, you are under arrest for the murder of Ethan Gold and the conspiracy to commit murder.” Booth got up from his chair and placed Michael’s hands behind his back as he read him his Miranda rights while placing handcuffs on him. He then escorted Mr. Novotny out the door and told the officer to book him on murder charges.

Booth walked back into the interrogation room and sat beside Bones.

“I never thought I would be arresting Brian’s friend. Brian’s not going to believe that Mikey killed Ethan.”

“Do you know this Mikey?” Bones asked.

“Yeah. He saw a hero in Brian and claimed him as his best friend. Another thing about Mikey is that he’s wanted Brian for himself.”

“You mean sexually?” Bones asked.

“Yeah,” Booth responded. “I’m surprised Mikey didn’t recognize me from high school.”

“I thought you were Brian’s best friend?”

“I am,” Booth replied. “I’m his best friend when it came to sports and homework. Mikey was his best friend in the gay world. I knew how Brian grew up, beaten by his father while his mother prayed to God for help. When we realized that we were going to the same university, we became roommates. I got to know Brian a lot more than Mikey will ever know about him.”

“So you both grew up with your fathers being the same.”

“Yeah,” Booth replied. “You could say that.”

“Now all we have to do is find out who set that bomb in Babylon,” Bones stated.

“Yeah,” Booth replied.

They both left the room to see if Hodgins had found anything on the fragments they sent to him. Booth also asked Angela to get any info on the Red Cape Comics that Michael owned.

Brian and Justin stayed with Emmett knowing that the press would interrogate Brian about what happened at Babylon. Justin phoned Cynthia at Kinnetik, telling her what happened with Babylon and that they would be staying at Emmett‘s for the time being. With the two of them in Em’s apartment, they were safe. They never went out as they were making plans for their future. Both sat on the sofa just wanting to be near each other.

The radio was playing softly in the corner of the kitchen when the song Chiquitita by ABBA began to play. Brian looked into Justin’s eyes and smiled. He rose from the sofa and took his lover’s hand into his. “Care to dance Stud?” They began to dance to the song that they danced at during Pride Week.

Brian lightly kissed Justin as they swayed to the music. Their hands roamed each other’s bodies, mapping out the spots that they kissed during their times they had sex. They were still dancing when Bones and Booth walked in the room.

Bones looked to the couple dancing and smiled. She then took Booth’s hand and guided him to the floor beside the two lovers. They began to dance to the song. She placed her head on his shoulder and kissed his neck.

“Hey,” Justin whispered.

“Hey,” Seeley replied. 

They all danced until the song ended. Then the door opened and in came Emmett. When he saw them dancing he smiled.

“Now this is love,” Em stated as he saw the smiles.

 

Chapter 3

“Brian I need to talk to you,” Seeley requested as the song ended.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Brian asked. They all went to the kitchen table and sat. Brian took Justin into his lap, wanting him close.

“We’ve arrested Mikey,” Seeley replied.

“Mikey? Why?” Brian questioned. “He couldn’t hurt a fly.”

“We found out today that he was the one that killed Ethan Gold,” Bones stated.

“Why would he do that?” Justin asked. “Ethan shouldn’t have been here in the first place.”

“Through our questioning and investigating,” Seeley began, “we found that Mikey hired Ethan to stop the two of you from ever getting back together. I figured that Ethan was there to kill you Justin for what you did to him.”

“I would never do anything to Ethan,” Justin stated. “He always knew that I loved Brian. But when he made promises and cheated on me, I couldn’t handle that. I left him to go live at Daphne’s place. I never went straight back to Brian. Besides, why would he make me his contact person?”

“So he could keep you close,” Brian stated. “As far as we knew he could have been your stalker, following you all around. If he found out that I was going to Australia, it would be his best time to kill you while I was away.”

“Only thing is that I never showed up at the benefit,” Justin stated. “If it wasn’t for car trouble, I could have been dead.”

“But you’re not,” Brian said. He hugged Justin tighter.

“When I examined Ethan’s body at the crime scene,” Bones replied, “I found a gun in the small of his back under his jeans. I think he was going to kill someone.”

“Question,” Justin asked. “Where would Mikey get the money to hire Ethan? He barely makes enough to run his comic shop.”

“We also looked into that,” Seely said. “We found out that he had $10,000 wired into Ethan’s account. I further dug into his financials and found that he sold all the copies of the last comic you created with him and ordered more.”

“That fuckin’ little shit!” Justin shouted as he rose from Brian’s lap. “He never paid me a cent out of my share for those comics. I haven’t seen any profits from the second comic.”

“Well, when Mikey found out that you didn’t show up at the benefit, he needed to get rid of Ethan. Mikey figured that Ethan would go talk to Justin about what he hired him to do.” Seeley watched Justin pace.

“But how did Mikey know I was going to get back together with Justin?” Brian asked. “I didn’t even know myself until just before I was going to leave for Australia.”

“I don’t know,” Seeley stated. “Mikey walked past Ethan and threw his drink on the guy. When the bomb went off, which he didn’t predict, he hit him over the back of the head with a bottle and moved Ethan’s body closer to the fire by the bar making Ethan burn.”

“This is unbelievable!” Brian exclaimed. “So did you find out who set the bomb?”

“No,” Bones replied, “but we did send the remains of the bomb to our people and Hodgins will figure out who made the bomb. We also found a partial print.”

“Justin!” Brian called to his lover. He watched as Justin came to him and sat on his lap. Brian put his arms around Justin’s waist to comfort him.

“It’s not fair!” Justin cried into his lover’s neck. “He would never hurt anyone.”

“I know,” Brian whispered. “I guess we don’t know our friends as well as we thought.”

“What’s going to happen to Ben?” Justin asked as he rose his head.

“Someone should tell him,” Brian stated.

“I’ll do that Brian,” Emmett replied. “You have enough on your plate right now.”

“Thanks, Em,” Brian said.

“Now, enough of this,” Em stated. “How about we order some Thai and get to know each other. I, for one, would like to know about your friend here, Brian.”

For the rest of the night, the five people in Em’s apartment got to know one another better. Food was ordered and enjoyed by all.

After questioning all the victims of the bombing and everyone involved, Booth received a call from Hodgins. He told Booth that the bomb was configured from fragments of other bombs. Whoever designed the bomb knew about bombs. This gave Booth the idea that he needed to talk to the Bomb Squad of the city.

After making a call to the Chief the next morning, Booth and Bones made their way to his office. They were led into an office that would rival any FBI office.

“Chief,” Booth began, “glad you could meet us. We were wondering if you could give us a list of the Bomb Squad team. We have reason to believe that someone on your squad was responsible for the bomb or someone who has access to making a bomb from fragments.”

“What did you find out?” Carl asked.

“My team,” Bones started to say, “found out that the bomb that was placed in the club was the result of many bombs put together. Whoever put this bomb together, knew what they were doing.”

“We searched the database at the FBI,” Booth said, “and came up with nothing. The only other thing we can think of is that he was or is on the Bomb Squad.”

“After you called,” Carl stated, “I got a list of the Bomb Squad employees and found out that there was a man that was recently fired because he was stealing bomb components from the bombs that were confiscated. His name is Brad Thomas.”

“This is going to be a big help,” Booth replied as he took the file Carl handed him. “Can I ask for another favor?”

“Sure, if it means getting a bomber off the streets.” Carl shook his head. “Never thought I would have another mad bomber in this city.”

“I need a list of the crime scenes to go over that involved bombings. If we can get a picture of what types of bombs were used, we might be able to decipher what parts were used in this bomb.”

“Give me a second,” Carl replied as he picked up the phone. “Philip, I need every file that dealt with bombings in this city. Thanks.”

“Thanks, Chief,” Booth replied. “I also have some news for you. We found the killer of Ethan Gold. It was his body that was burned on the floor.”

“Who killed him?” Carl asked.

“You’re not going to believe it but it was Michael Novotny,” Bones stated.

“Mikey?” Carl questioned. “But he wouldn’t hurt a fly. I’m dating his mother right now.”

“He hired Mr. Gold to kill Justin,” Booth said. “Just to let you know, I’m Brian’s friend from Carnegie. Mikey thought that if he couldn’t have Brian then neither could anybody else.”

“I know,” Carl replied. “Mikey has loved Brian since they were fourteen. He’s been trying to insinuate himself into Brian’s life. He’s been like a love sick puppy since they met.”

“I know all about it,” Booth stated. “Brian told me all about his life when we were roommates at university. I know more about Brian than Mikey does.”

Just then, a knock came at the door. Philip, Carl’s assistant, came into the room with a box of files.

“Here’s what you asked for, Chief,” Philip replied as he set the box on Carl’s desk. He then left the office.

All three of them went through the files. Included in the files was a disk of every file.

“Would you mind if I emailed this to my people?” Bones asked.

“No go ahead,” Carl replied. “You can use the computer at that desk over there for privacy.”

Bones got up and emailed the disk to Hodgins. She then called him and told him about the file she sent. 

“I’ll get right on this,” Hodgins replied as he hung up.

Bones went back over to the two men and began going through the files.

“Looks like we got our man,” Booth stated as he leafed through a file. “You’re right, Carl. Seems like Brad Thomas is our mad bomber. Now we just need to find out who hired him to set it off.”

“What makes you think someone would hire him?” Bones asked.

“Well, for one thing, he couldn’t have done this on his own. He hasn‘t been able to keep a job because he got fired. If he hasn’t kept a job that means his money is running out.”

“Can I use that computer, Carl?” Booth asked.

“Sure,” Carl replied.

Booth got into the FBI database and ran a background check on Brad Thomas. As he was looking through his financials, he came across a large some of money that was deposited into his account. The amount was for $100,000.

“I found what I was looking for,” Booth stated as he handed a printout of Thomas’ financials. “Someone did hire him.”

When the other two saw the amount, it floored them.

“Who would do this?” Carl questioned. “Who in this city would have that kind of money laying around to pay someone to do this?”

“I might know someone who would,” Booth stated.

“Who?” Carl asked.

“Justin Taylor’s father,” Booth stated.

“Why him?” Bones inquired.

“Brian told me when he and Justin first met, Justin’s father denied that his son was gay. He even tried to kill Brian but using his vehicle. He even beat Brian up outside Babylon when he tried to get his son back.”

“I remember that,” Carl stated. “Brian came in and tried to tell me that someone was trying to kill him when I was a detective.”

“Yeah, then Brian told me that when Craig Taylor found out his son was going to PIFA, Craig was not going to pay his way unless he went to Dartmouth.”

“Where was his mother in all this?” Bones asked.

“She was in the background helping Justin. When Craig wanted Justin to deny who he was, Justin walked out and moved into Brian’s until they could find a place for him to live. This made Craig more furious. Jennifer helped her son any way she could. She supported him financially when he moved into Brian’s place. Brian told me he liked having Justin there. It brought meaning to his life but Brian wanted him to experience all he could. So they got him moved into Deb’s and he started working at the Diner.”

“Yeah, I remember that,” Carl concurred. “Debbie, Mikey’s mom, told me.”

“It was some time later that Craig and Jennifer broke up. Craig still never forgave Justin for what he became: a fag. Craig thought that Brian turned him gay. That was one thing Brian knew was not true.”

“How can Craig Taylor afford to hire a bomber?” Bones asked.

“Craig Taylor owns one of the biggest electronic stores in the state, Taylor Electronics,” Booth indicated.

“You sure know your friend, Booth,” Carl stated.

“I know more about Brian than Mikey,” Booth replied. “Could you have the cops pick up Brad Thomas for us and I’ll phone the FBI and get them to get a warrant for his place.”

“Will do,” Carl said. “I would like to sit in the viewing room while you interrogate him.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way, Chief,” Booth replied.

Carl got on the phone and placed his call to dispatch.

Back at Em’s apartment, Brian and Justin were talking about their future on the sofa.

“Brian, did you mean what you said about us moving in together?” Justin asked.

“Yeah, I told you from the beginning that I want you around for a long time. I have never lied to you or broke promises. I think we need to start fresh.”

“What do you mean?” Justin asked.

“Marry me,” Brian whispered. 

“You’re unfuckinbelievable,” Justin replied. “You’re only saying this because of what happened.”

“No, I’m not. I want this. Since I said those three words to you, I want to prove to you that I do love you. I want to prove to the person that I love how much I love him.” Brian brought his lips inside his mouth waiting for Justin’s answer.

“You’re serious.”

“I’ve never been more serious in my life. I’m willing to change my life. This episode made me think that what I have in front of me is my life. When you came into my life, you upended it. You got under my skin. I never kissed tricks or fucked them more than once. You’ve got a stamina in sex that I never seen in anyone else. I do love you.”

Justin looked at Brian as he talked. He never thought he would hear those words come out of Brian’s mouth. This was definitely a different person before him. He knew right from the beginning that he loved Brian and Brian became his first and only love. He never loved Ethan. It was just his way of getting back at Brian for what he was doing to him.

“I believe you and I love you also,” Justin stated. “Okay.”

“Okay what?”

“Yes.”

“Say it.”

“Yes,” Justin repeated as he moved closer, “I will marry you.”

Just then, a squeal was heard. They both turned to Emmett and smiled.

“I knew it!” Em exclaimed. He rushed over to the two lovers and sat beside Justin. “Can I do your wedding?”

“Of course you can, Em,” Brian stated. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Wait until Seeley hears this,” Em stated clapping his hands.

At the precinct, cops led Brad Thomas into the interrogation room. On his way there, other cops were looking at him. Each cop knew who he was and figured that he had something to do with the bombing at Babylon.

Booth went through the file that was handed to him from another cop. Inside it contained the evidence about the partial bombs.

Booth, Bones and the Chief were on the other side of the glass as Brad was seated and cuffed to the table. One thing the cops of Pittsburgh were thorough with was that each criminal was read their Miranda rights. When they saw him enter without a lawyer, they knew that they had their man.

Booth and Bones left Carl alone and entered the other room with a file in Booth’s hands. Booth had an earpiece in his ear to hear anything that Carl would ask. 

“Mr. Thomas,” Booth began, “I’m Special Agent Booth with the FBI and this is Dr. Brennan with the Jeffersonian. I would like to know where you were on the afternoon of the bombing that took place at Babylon.” Booth and Bones took a seat opposite Mr. Thomas.

“I was at my home,” Brad stated.

“Did anyone see you there?” Booth asked as he flipped through the file.

“No.”

“We found evidence in your garage that contains bomb fragments for making bombs.”

Brad didn’t say anything. 

“My people in DC at the Jeffersonian found out that the bomb at Babylon was made from different parts of other bombs,” Bones stated. “The only person that would know how to make a bomb would have been you since you were part of the Bomb Squad here in Pittsburgh.”

“Anyone could have known how to make a bomb,” Brad stated. “You can get all that information on the internet.”

“Yes they could,” Booth continued in the conversation, “but this person used fragments from other bombings that took place in this city. We also looked into your financials and found an interesting amount of money deposited. Who hired you to do this?”

Brad sat there not wanting to look at them. He knew now that he was in deep shit. If he were going to get out of this, he would have to come clean.

“What do I get in return for this information?” Brad asked.

“We would have to talk to the District Attorney,” Booth stated. “Now who did this?”

Brad drew in a breath and said, “Craig Taylor. He wanted me to blow up Babylon because of what it stood for: a gay Mecca. He knew what Brian Kinney did to Stockwell and wanted to get back at him. Kinney ruined Stockwell’s life by doing what he did.”

“Ask him what that was,” Carl asked in the microphone to Booth. Carl had his suspicions about what happened but wanted it confirmed.

“What was that?” Booth asked.

“He ruined Stockwell’s reputation by calling him homophobic. Craig Taylor found out that it was Kinney who made that ad during his campaign. If it weren’t for that ad, the fags of Liberty Avenue wouldn’t have voted. Kinney ruined everything!”

“You mean to tell me that you placed that bomb in the club, killing four people and injuring others because of someone else’s hatred for fags?” Booth questioned.

“Yes,” Brad stated. “I also hate fags. They think that they can get equal rights for everything in their lives when Prop 14 was going to stop that. We need to keep them from getting equal opportunities from us straight people.”

“Why? Their people too. Things are changing in this society. Why can’t they have the same things?” Booth asked.

“Fags can’t raise kids. There needs to be a woman and a man to raise kids, not fags. It’s as if they can get anything they want. We need to stop that.”

Booth rose from his seat and came around to Brad Thomas. “Brad Thomas,” Booth said as he opened Thomas’ cuffs from the table and put them back on around his back, “you are under arrest for first degree murder of four people, attempted murder and the bombing of Babylon.” Booth made sure that he was read his Miranda Rights again. They would make sure that everything was by the book so that no loopholes were created. 

Booth led Thomas outside and handed him over to the cop standing outside the door. He told the cop to book him.

Bones and Booth made their way to Carl. “It looks like we got our bomber,” Carl stated. “I also have a squad car going to pick up Craig Taylor for the same charges.”

“Now how am I going to tell Justin about what his father had done?” Booth asked.

“I can tell you right now from what I heard about the boy from Debbie is that he denied having a father when Craig beat Brian outside Babylon.”

All three of them made their way back to the Chief’s office.

“What do you mean?” Bones asked as he and Bones took their seats.

“When Craig found out that his son was gay, he went to Liberty Avenue to get him. He tried getting Justin away from Brian when Brian shoved him. Craig then punched Brian, knocking him down and began to kick him. Brian ended up with some bruised ribs. When Brian went to go after Craig, Emmett told him he was his father. It was then that Craig gave Justin a choice of coming home or never again. Justin shouted ‘never again’. That statement said everything.”

“How did Justin feel?” Booth asked.

“From what Debbie told me, he looked up to his father until he became a homophobe. It was then that he hated him. She told me that his father was not ready for him to become a gay man.”

“We all have to grow up sometime,” Bones replied.

“It was after that that Justin moved in with Brian then Debbie’s,” Carl said.

“He’s sure had a rough life,” Booth stated. He knew more about Brian and Justin than Carl did it seemed. “Well we should get back to Emmett’s and tell Justin.”

“Thanks for your help on the case,” Carl replied as he shook their hands. “We would have been on this case longer if not for your expertise.”

“I’ll have my team send you all the files on this case from the Jeffersonian,” Bones replied as she shook his hand.

“Thanks again,” Carl stated as he showed them out.

After they left the police station, Booth began to talk. “Do you want to stay a few more days? I know we should be getting back to our daughter but I did come up here to be with Brian.”

“I think we can stay a few days. The nanny we hired is a trusted friend. Besides, I think Brian needs us right now.”

 

Chapter 4

They drove to Emmett’s place. They entered and saw Emmett hugging Justin.

“Well, now,” Booth stated. “Aren’t you hugging the wrong person?” The hetero couple made their way to take a seat in the living room.

“No, I mean yes,” Justin replied. “Brian just asked me to marry him! Can you believe it?”

“This is great,” Booth replied then hesitated. “Listen, I don’t want to say this now but we found the bomber of Babylon.” He hung his head not wanting to tell them about Craig Taylor.

“What is it Seeley?” Brian asked. “We know the bomber, don’t we?”

“Yes you do,” Seeley replied. Then he looked to his lover, Tempy and nodded. Right now, he was chickening out because of Brian.

“Justin,” Tempy replied as she took a seat next to him, “it was your father who hired the bomber.”

Booth knew that Tempy would tell anyone the truth. She never beat around the bush when she was saying anything or wanting anything.

“My father!” Justin rose from his seat. “My fuckin’ father? Why?” Tears started rolling down his cheeks.

“From getting fags the same rights as everyone else.” Tempy watched Justin reaction. He was furious.

“Justin calm down,” Brian stated as he got up and wrapped his arms around Justin from behind. “Don’t do this.”

“Don’t do what?” Justin questioned Brian as he turned in his arms. “My fuckin’ father will never accept us as we are. This has been like this since the beginning!”

“I know,” Brian whispered as he took Justin in his arms. “I was there remember?”

Justin nodded. He would always love his father even if he now hated him.

“Enough of this,” Emmett stated and stood. “We have some happy news for a change and that is I have a wedding to plan.” He then turned to the newly formed couple. “Where are you going to get married?”

“I don’t know,” Brian replied. “I didn’t get that far in my way of thinking. I just got to the proposal stage.” He held Justin at arms length and wiped the tears. Brian kissed his nose. “Where do you want to get married?”

“I don’t care, as long as I’m with you,” Justin replied as he pecked Brian’s nose.

“How about our place?” Seeley asked. “We have this big house that is full of happiness. That’s what we need right now. How about it?”

“We can’t do that!” Justin exclaimed. 

“Another reason to get married at our place is that same-sex marriage is legal.” Seeley rose his eyebrows. “There you would be considered equals. Besides,” Seeley said looking at his lover, “it’s about time we get married.”

Tempy looked right at Seeley. She smiled knowing that Seeley was right. “You’re right,” she replied. “It’s time we made ourselves legal because of our daughter.”

“How about a double wedding?” Emmett stood and clapped.

“No,” Seeley stated. “This should be Brian’s day. We can do it some other time.”

“Seeley?” Brian asked as he stood before his best friend. “I would be honored if you would be my best man and I can in return be yours.”

“You mean it?” Seeley asked. 

“Yes,” Brian replied.

“Then let’s do it,” Seeley replied.

“Justin?” Tempy turned to him. “Would you be my groom of honor, then?”

Justin stared at her as if she was crazy. “That’s the first time I’m hearing about a groom of honor but I would be honored if you be my matron of honor. Besides you will be married first.”

“Yes,” said Brian, “that’s the deal.”

“Okay,” Seeley replied. “I know when I’m licked.” He then turned to Emmett. “Could you put up with us for a few more days?”

“I would love it,” Emmett stated. “We could plan the wedding of the century. Are you going to invite your family, Brian?”

“No, I want this to be just us and what did you call your team, Seeley? Squints?” Brian asked as he turned to her.

“That’s what Seeley refers to them as,” she replied. “He thinks that we squint at our work. The name just stuck.” She turned to Seeley. “Do you want them there?”

“I would love them there,” Brian replied.

“Especially, Angela.” Seeley then turned to Justin. “You will love her. I hate to say this but it’s as if she walked right out of the hippy days. Have you seen her Dad?”

“Who’s her Dad?” Justin was intrigued.

“Should we tell them?” Seeley looked towards Tempy. When he saw her nod he said, “Would you believe that her father is Billy Gibbons?”

“You mean to tell me that he’s part of ZZ Top?” Justin happily stated. “I love their music.”

“How do you know them?” Seeley asked. This shocked him knowing that a young man Justin’s age would know who Billy Gibbons was.

“I’m a fag remember? I especially love their song, ‘Sharp Dressed Man‘,” Justin said. “The first time I saw Brian in an Armani, that’s what came to mind.”

“So this won’t be a problem?” Tempy asked.

“No, it’s great. The two of us won’t mind but I don’t know about Emmett,” Justin specified as he turned.

“Oh honey, don’t worry about me,” Em answered back. “I can be civilized when I want. Besides, maybe he can be my ‘sharp dressed man’.” Em snickered at that thought.

There were a few more chuckles. They all sat at the table and began plans on a double wedding. After the plans were made, Justin turned to Brian.

“What are you going to do to Kinnetik?” Justin asked.

“I did some thinking in bed after you went to sleep,” Brian told him. “I’ve decided to sell Babylon and the loft. As for Kinnetik, I’m going to make Cynthia CEO and Ted Assistant CEO. I will still own the company and if it’s okay with you, we could move to DC permanently.” Brian waited for Justin’s thoughts.

“You would do that for me?” Justin asked. “Where and what are we going to live on?”

“You can live with us,” Seeley stated. “We have a cottage on the property until you get a place of your own or you can stay there.”

“You’re doing enough for us, Seeley,” Brian stated then looked at Justin. “Besides, Justin, I have money. I never told anyone but when I was starting out at Ryder, I invested when Liberty Air went public. Before Kinnetik got their contract, I sold the shares so as not to have a conflict of interest. With what I made of the sale and what we can get for Babylon and the loft, we would never have to work again.”

“I will not hear of it, Brian,” Tempy interrupted them. “We have this place a ways from the house we never use. I thought of using it for our servants that we have taking care of the place and they refused. They now keep it clean just in case Seeley needs it.” Tempy chuckled at her last statement.

Seeley laughed knowing his lover made a joke. She was not known for her sense of humor until Seeley came into her life. He came up to her and kissed her.

“Please,” Brian stated as he covered Justin’s eyes, “not in front of the children.”

Everyone laughed. It was nice to hear it in spite of what happened to Justin’s dad.

“Em,” Tempy turned to the flamboyant man. “Would you be interested in working for us? I know you have a catering business here but you could do parties in DC just as well as here. You can stay with us in the big house, not the White House. We can give you your own wing for your quarters.”

“How big is this house?” Em demanded. “It sounds as big as the White House.”

“I think it is,” Seeley explained. “We have twelve bedrooms, three wings and our kitchen would put a chef to shame.” He then turned to Justin. “Connected to the cottage is a greenhouse that has never been used. You could use it for a studio. The light would be phenomenal for painting.”

Justin eyes brightened up hearing about the greenhouse. He turned to Brian, pleading with his eyes.

Brian saw the look and nodded. “Alright, Seeley, you have a deal.” He then turned to Tempy. “Does the Jeffersonian have an advertising firm they use?”

“No, they contract it out to bidders. Why?” Tempy asked.

“I could work for the institute on doing their promotions for exhibits,” Brian explained. “I could give them a break on costs being that I don’t need the money. The money I get could be used towards internship programs. You do have assistants?”

“Yes, I do. Right now, I have an grad student by the name of Wendell Bray that I’m thinking of hiring. He’s my top scholarship student. His story is that his community where he lived, came together to put him through grad school. We found out later that he lost his scholarship because of the crash. Someone came up with funds for his scholarship. We don’t want that to happen again. Right now, he’s good for the group. To me they are a Godsend when I have to be in the field with Seeley. They relay anything that comes up in cases.” Tempy went up to Brian and hugged him. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Brian said. “Now anymore questions?” Brian looked at Justin when he said this.

“No, not a one,” Justin replied as he came up to Brian to kiss him. “Thank you.”

“By the way,” Em began to asked, “Why do you refer to each other with your first names in public but your last names during business?”

“That’s the way it’s always been,” Seeley replied. “It’s like we live two lives. One that’s private for us where we can be ourselves and then there’s the one we use when working. Our working names keep us apart but as working partners.”

“I know what you mean,” Justin replied. “Brian’s like that also. He shows to me a soft side but when he’s outside the loft, he shows his asshole side.”

“It’s the only way to work in business,” Brian stated. “If I didn’t have an asshole side, I wouldn’t be where I am right now.”

“Okay, enough of that,” Em told them all. “We need to make plans on getting the two of you moved to DC and I need to get someone to take over my catering business here in Pittsburgh. I think I may know of someone who might be suitable for the job.

“Who’s that?” Justin asked.

“Shanda Lear,” Em answered. “She been thinking about retiring from show business and opening her own catering business. I think I will sell her my business. It has parties already booked for the next six months. All she has to do is follow the menu each person wanted.

“Who’s Shanda Lear?” Tempy asked.

“She’s a drag queen who lip syncs to showtoones,” Brian stated. “She’s very good.”

“What is a drag queen?” she asked.

“It’s a guy who loves dressing up in costumes to sing,” Em said. “I love dressing up in women’s clothing at Halloween.” He then turned to Tempy. “Hey, maybe I could dress you up when you go to parties in DC?”

“Look at that,” Brian laughed, “Em will have his own Barbie doll.”

“I would like that, Em,” Tempy replied.

“Now, let’s get this show on the road,” Em stated. 

Em made dinner has the other four made plans for their weddings.

 

After a couple more days, Tempy and Seeley went back to DC to get things ready on their side.

For the next couple of weeks, Brian got things settled at Kinnetik. He also got Ted to put Babylon on the market as soon as the police were done with the building. As he was doing this, Justin was packing up the loft. 

Emmett had a talk with Shanda Lear and she accepted the business. She was a great cook so it was easy for the new clients to accept her.

As this was going on, the trial for Michael and Craig Taylor was about to begin. It took only four days to find out that they were guilty of their charges. Michael was sent to jail for twenty years for murder and Craig got thirty years for his crimes. Brad Thomas turned states evidence against Craig Taylor and only got fifteen years but he had to do the full time. Brian and Justin testified at their trials. Brian was disappointed at Mikey for what he done. It was as if he never knew his best friend. As for Justin, he couldn’t believe that his father would do this in his lifetime. When Jennifer found out what her husband did, she began divorce proceedings. She had power of attorney over Craig’s business if something like this happened so she sold the business to one of her friends that wanted it a long time ago.

Emmett, Brian and Justin said their goodbyes to their friends. They told them all that they wanted to start their lives over after what happened and begin their new lives in Washington DC.

A few days after arriving in DC, Seeley and Tempy had a party for their new neighbors. The squints were invited. When Brian laid his eyes on Hodgins, he couldn’t believe it.

“Jack?” 

“Dude, what are you doing here?” Jack put his arms around him. “I know what you’re doing here. I just didn’t put your name together as Seeley never told me your last name.”

“Yeah, it’s me,” Brian replied, returning the hug.

“Okay, how do you know Brian, Hodgins?” Seeley asked.

“Well.” Jack began as he looked at Brian.

“Let me,” Brian interrupted. “We met at a White Party after I got my first campaign at Ryder. I wanted to treat myself after I purchased my loft and so I went to a White Party. There I met Jack. He was a waiter at one of the resorts. And no he is not gay.”

“After I got my doctorate, I took some time off so I applied for a waiter’s job for a change in scenery. Didn’t know it was for gay people but I did it anyways.” Jack bowed his head as if he was ashamed. “We got to know one another when Brian wasn’t fucking someone. Then when the job came up at the Jeffersonian, I applied and the rest is history.”

“But you didn’t need to work,” Tempy replied.

“Yeah, I did,” Jack stated. “I wanted to show my family that I didn’t need to live on the money the family had so I did something I enjoyed.”

“Justin, this is Angela,” Tempy introduced the artists. “She does the reconstruction of the skulls on what people look like. Angela, this is Justin. He’s an artist.”

“Nice to meet you, Angela,” Justin replied as he shook her hand. He was then gathered into her arms.

“I heard so much about you from Temperance,” Angela stated. “Good to met another artist. You’ll have to show me your work.”

“I want to see your’s also,” Justin said.

When Emmett was introduced to Angela, he loved her. The way she dressed was free and her clothes looked comfortable.

The rest of the squints were introduced. When Brian saw Wendell, he understood what Tempy said about the young man. To Brian, he looked like an outgoing young man but not a party animal. Brian also had good first impressions about people and when he was introduced to Cam, he liked her from the get go. He somehow liked the feeling he got when he was with Tempy’s friends.

Then Brian and Justin were introduced to the two kids. Michael as Angela and Jack’s son and Briana was Tempy and Seeley’s daughter. Justin saw Brian’s reaction when he heard the name Michael and took his hand.

Seeley saw the movement. “New generation.” Seeley looked to Jack and winked.

Jack understood the wink about a talk later. He nodded.

Brian heard the statement of Seeley’s and smiled. He new his friend understood.

Everyone got to know the others. Brian and Justin knew this was their new family. With Seeley being his best friend, things became easier.

“I would all like your attention,” Temperance began. “Wendell, can you come up here?”

Wendell had a questionable look on his face. He hoped that Dr. Brennan had good news for him.

“I know that it has taken me a long time to find an assistant with all the interns coming and going. Well, I have made my decision.” Tempy turned to Wendell. “It would be a great honor if you would join the team, Wendell?”

There was clapping going on but all Wendell heard was the pounding in his ears. He couldn’t believe that he got the job.

“Thanks, Dr. Brennan. You will not regret this,” Wendell replied with a smile on his face as he shook her hand. He then turned to the other squints.

“Dude! This is so great!” Jack exclaimed. “Now we can get down to serious experiments!”

“Over my dead body!” Cam stated.

“That could be arranged,” Seeley stated as he smiled at Cam.

Cam knew that Seeley was joking and smiled.

The others congratulated him as the newest member of their family.

“The reason I did this is because I have never had a more brilliant student than Wendell. He’s a person I can trust to do the job right. I like it that he’s more down to earth.”

The evening was celebrated with the great news.

A few days later, Brian presented his portfolio to the Jeffersonian for their advertising needs. When the director found out that Brian owns Kinnetik, he didn’t need to know anything further. He agreed and signed a contract with Kinnetik for the advertising and agreed with Brian about donating Brian’s commission to the Scholarship Fund that they set up with Kinnetik. Brian then phoned Cynthia at Kinnetik to let her know they got a contract with the Jeffersonian. When he talked to her about the contract, she agreed with him. Brian then informed her that Justin would do the art design being that he was the one on site.

Em was shown to the one wing that Temperance told him would be his. When he found out it was like an apartment, he loved it. They told him to join him for meals as he was going to be cooking in the kitchen.

Emmett got settled into the Booth/Brennan house. He loved the high-end appliances that the kitchen sported. It was a chef’s dream come true. He was introduced to the chef, Joseph Innes and they found out they had a lot of things in common. So they ended up being each other’s assistants: Emmett became Joseph’s assistant in the house and Joseph became Emmett’s assistant doing parties in DC. They put their heads together to plan the wedding being that Joseph knew where to get the food.

One week before the wedding, Tempy and Justin went to a bridal boutique with Emmett to try on a dress for Tempy and a white tux for Justin. What Justin didn’t know was that Tempy was buying Justin’s tux so she made sure that they went to the best boutique. She found a white Armani tux made of silk that fit Justin like a glove with a sky blue shirt that matched his eyes and a red tie. Justin loved it.

Tempy’s dress was just amazing since it was Emmett who picked it out. One thing he knew was that he could dress up any woman to the nines and make them beautiful. It was a drop-down shoulders dress with lace and Mother of Pearl embedded in the cloth around the top. The pearls continued down the dress from the centre and made its way down the front until they branched off around the bottom until they ended up on the small train. It was the type of dress you could dye later to a different color without spoiling the material or the pearls. Tempy went with 3-inch spikes that would make her the same height as Seeley.

The grooms went to another shop that Brian knew about from his friends in New York City. What Seeley didn’t know was that Brian was buying the two tuxes that they would be wear at the wedding. Brian thought he needed a new tux for events that he would create at the Jeffersonian and any gallery openings that he and Justin would go to while living there. They both got a silk tux in black. Brian’s shirt was red with a red tie and Seeley’s was a white shirt with a red tie. Seeley made sure that his pants had belt loops so that he could wear his ‘Cocky’ buckle. It was after all, his trademark.

The night before the wedding, Jack put on a party for the couples. There was great food to be had as well as happy times. Stories were told of how Brian met Seeley and how each couple met their respective partners.

When it came to going home, Tempy put her arm around Justin’s shoulders. “He’s staying here while Brian takes Seeley to the cottage.” She looked to Seeley knowing that it was against the rules for spouses to see their partners the morning of the wedding.

“I’ll not argue with you there, baby,” Seeley stated. He walked up to her and kissed her. “I love you.”

“Love you back,” Tempy replied. “Now out of here. Justin and I need our beauty rest for tomorrow.”

Brian then came up to Justin. He took the young man into his arms and whispered, “I love you.”

Justin gasped knowing it was hard for Brian to say those words. “I love you also,” Justin whispered back. He gave Brian a quick kiss before he felt Brian being pulled from his arms.

 

Chapter 5

The day of the wedding, Justin woke in a strange bed when he remembered what happened the night before. He got out of bed and made his way to Tempy’s bedroom. He wanted to see how she fared through the night. When he knocked he heard Tempy give him permission to enter.

“Morning, Justin,” Tempy said. She sat up in bed, resting against the headboard as she patted the bed beside her.

Justin took his seat next to her. It was weird for him to be in bed with a woman but he liked Tempy. He quickly gave her a morning kiss on the cheek.

Just then, another knock was heard.

“Come in,” Tempy said.

Emmett came in carrying breakfast for Tempy. “Morning, my lady,” Emmett stated. “What’s he doing here in bed with you?”

“He came to see how I am,” Tempy replied. “If it’s ok with Justin, he can have breakfast with me while we talk of the wedding.”

“I would love that, Tempy, thanks,” Justin replied.

“I’ll go get your tray then, sir,” Em chuckled.

Justin chuckled at that answer. He felt like he was king of the manor but knew that was Seeley’s job.

At the cottage, Brian and Seeley thought they would fend for themselves. After they both showered and donned robes, Brian went to start breakfast. Only he was too late. He watched as Joseph was making them a light breakfast.

“Morning, Joseph,” Brian said.

“Morning, sir,” Joseph replied as he got a cup of coffee for Brian.

“It’s Brian, Joseph. No need for formalities here. Besides, I couldn’t get used to someone calling me ’sir’.”

“Brian,” Seeley stated as he entered the kitchen, “he did that to me when I hired him. It took him a couple of weeks to get over it but he does grow on you.” 

“I remember that, Seeley,” Joseph replied. “I will remember that Brian.” He then handed Seeley a cup of coffee then Brian.

“What are you doing here?” Seeley asked.

“Well, Emmett and I talked last night and we both agreed that the wedding couples need a good breakfast so he said that he would look after the ‘girls’ and I would look after the men.”

“Don’t let Justin hear you call him a girl,” Brian stated. “Besides, he’s all man to me.”

“From what you told me about Justin, Brian,” Seeley said, “he’s gone through life better than any man would have considering what just happened. He’s one tough man.”

Brian nodded knowing what Seeley said. They both sat down to breakfast at the counter as Joseph served them.

“So, Seeley, where are taking Tempy on your honeymoon?” Brian asked as he got another cup of coffee.

“I guess I didn’t tell you,” Seeley replied as he held his cup out for Brian to refill. “Tempy got the four of us on a trip to Milan. She thought that you would enjoy the shopping, Justin the artwork there, and she and I will be at the new dig site just north of Milan. There was a site recently discovered that held the body of Bellovesus. He was a legendary Gallic king and the professor involved in the dig wants Tempy there to identify bodies that were found. This will be great experience for yours truly and it will make me understand how Tempy works in anthropology better.”

“Don’t you do that now?” Brian asked.

“Yeah but the way we do things now is different than what they do in the field. In the here and now, we discover how they died and put the person responsible in jail. In the past, we can’t arrest the person responsible for killing that person. They preserve the body as well as the clothes that they wore. Everything will be catalogued, recorded and examined. Here, the same things are done but when we are done with the bodies, they go back to the family. In the field, things are kept until they end up in museums for all to see. You almost have to be there when Tempy is in anthropology mode.”

“I guess it is different,” Brian replied. “But she shouldn’t have got us a honeymoon. I can take of that myself.”

“Let her do this for you, Brian,” Seeley replied. “It makes her feel good that she can do things for others. I know you can afford it but I think she’s grown attached to Justin for some unknown reason.”

“I saw that,” Brian stated. 

“To tell you the truth, I think it started when she saw the love between the two of you develop. It reminded her of when we fell in love. I fell in love with her on our second case. But we couldn’t be together because of work.”

“What changed now?” Brian asked.

“After a co-worker was killed in the Jeffersonian, I wouldn’t let her be by herself because the sniper was still out there. She stayed at my apartment that night and one thing led to another and we made love. She wanted to have my child some time before that but nothing ever came of it. Anyways, the night that Jack and Angela’s son was born, she told me that she was pregnant. That I was the father.”

“Do you regret having your daughter?” Brian asked.

“No,” Seeley happily replied. “When Tempy told me she was having a daughter, I was mad. I wanted to be there when she found out but then as time went on, I loved her even more, both of them. Tempy does things on her own because that’s the way she is. She did things without telling people but now, she tells me what she is doing because I worry about her. What’s wrong Brian?” Seeley saw a look of sadness cross his face.

“I didn’t tell you but I have a son,” Brian stated. “He was born the night I met Justin. My son, as we speak, are on their way to Canada because of what happened at Babylon. I signed over my rights when I found out that Lindsey was going to marry a man so he could stay in the U.S. I told them that I would sign over Gus if they got married. His parents wanted him to be safe so they are moving to another country thinking that it’s going to be okay. But I know it’s not. People will always hate you behind your back or in front of your face.”

“You’re not talking about Lindsey Peterson?” Seeley questioned.

“Yeah, the one and only.”

“I still can’t believe that you slept with her in college,” Seeley replied.

“She wanted to make sure she was a lesbian. I think she fell in love with me then.”

“I get this feeling that you want to be a parent again,” Seeley said.

“I was going to ask Justin about that sometime down the road but when I see you with your daughter, I want another one.”

“We have plenty of surrogates in the area that are willing to do this,” Seeley explained. “When the time comes, all four of us will do this together. Besides, I always considered you a brother and so therefore, we are family.”

“Okay,” Brian answered. “Right now we need to get ready. It’s time that we married the loves of our lives.”

“You’re right.” Seeley drank the rest of his coffee and put his cup in the sink.

“You both better hurry up,” Joseph stated, “or you’re both going to be late.”

“Yes sir,” Brian answered him with a salute. It felt like he was drafted.

Seeley saw the salute and did the same. When it came to running the household, Joseph was the best. He made sure that Seeley and Tempy had everything before they left the house for work. Seeley loved the man.

Four hours later, Justin and Tempy were in the adjoining room at the back of the chapel where they were going to be married. It was the type of chapel that had no denomination. Justin was getting Tempy into her dress while he stood in his boxers and a t-shirt.

“You don’t mind that you’re dressing a naked woman?” Tempy questioned.

“No, I don’t mind,” Justin replied adjusting her dress. “Besides, I have slept with a woman who was my best friend. She wanted to lose her virginity before she slept with a man. That’s where I came in. It felt weird but I understand where she’s coming from.”

“I think that was commendable for what you did for your friend,” Tempy explained. “A woman doesn’t want a man to know that she is a virgin when they first sleep together. It’s a lot of pressure on a woman’s mind.”

“I know,” Justin replied. “I have a mother and sister. But it’s different for a man. I was a virgin the night Brian and I first slept together. He was very gentle with me.”

“I’m happy for you,” Tempy said. “Justin, I hope you don’t mind me saying this but I have come to love you as a brother in the short time we have been together. You are a very caring young man who would help anybody in need.”

“Thanks, Tempy,” Justin replied as he hugged her. Just then, the door opened and in walked Angela.

“What’s going on here?” Angela demanded with a smile on her face. She saw the back of Tempy’s dress undone.

“Oh, hi Angela,” Justin replied as he chuckled. “This is not what you think. I’m a man’s man all the way, so I decided to help Tempy dress into her gown. Besides, we’re the brides today.” Justin got behind Tempy and zipped her up.

“I know that,” Angela teasingly said. “Besides, I know you wouldn’t be going after Tempy with you standing there in your boxers.” She looked Justin up and down.

“Sorry,” Justin laughed. “I’m so used to Brian walking around naked that I picked up his habit even though I’m not naked. I still have a little dignity.” He then proceeded to put his pants on. “I didn’t want to get dressed until I had Tempy in hers. Besides, wearing white can be a bitch.”

“I know what you mean,” Angela replied. “Jack was wearing a white jacket to a benefit and he picked up our son to place him in his bed when all of a sudden Michael threw up all over him. The dry cleaners were told what was on the suit and they suggested to Jack that he throw out the jacket. Babies have a unique acid that will not come out of material.”

“I found that out after Gus was born,” Justin replied. He noticed that both women had an unusual look on their faces. “I guess you both don’t know that Brian is a father to a little boy. He’s now living in Canada with his mothers since what went on at Babylon. I was sitting with Gus one night and he threw up on me. I went to wash my shirt out and the stain was still there. I now use it for painting.”

“Well,” Tempy began, “let’s get this show on the road.”

“Here,” Angela stated, “let’s get your veil on so we can get you married.” She took the veil and proceeded to get Tempy finished.

Justin was in his shirt trying to adjust his tie. “Damn thing!”

“Here,” Angela stated, “let me do that.” She then went to stand Justin in front of the mirror and stood behind him. “My dad became all thumbs when it came to a tie.”

“Is Mr. Gibbons going to be here?” Justin asked.

“Yes, he’s here,” Angela replied.

Justin looked at Angela in the mirror and gave her his Sunshine smile. After his tie was done, he turned and kissed Angela on the cheek. Justin then finished dressing.

“Now let me look at the two of you,” Angela replied as she stood Justin beside Tempy. “You both look gorgeous! Who’s walking you both down the aisle?”

“We thought we could do that ourselves,” Tempy replied.

“Ah, no you can’t,” Angela stated. “If it’s ok with you both, my dad asked that he walk you down the aisle. It’s tradition.”

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

“Are you both decent?” Billy asked across the door.

“Yes they are Dad,” Angela replied as she opened the door.

Billy came into the room and looked at the two people in white. He looked to the two of them and walked around them as if he was inspecting them. Billy came to a stop before them.

Justin didn’t know what to expect from this musician.

“Well now,” Billy said. “You both are beautiful. I love the dress, Dr. Brennan. As for you young man, I love the red tie.”

“Thanks, Mr. Gibbons,” Justin replied as he flattened his tie.

“None of that. My name is Billy to all my friends.”

“Then I’m Tempy to all of mine, Billy. I would like to thank you for walking us down the aisle. At least we’ll have a man,” Tempy stated.

“What am I, chopped liver?” Justin retorted.

“No, sweetie,” Angela replied. “I saw that you are all man but today you are the bride as you said. You need someone to walk you down the aisle.”

Just then, they heard the change in the music.

“I think that is our cue,” Tempy stated.

The four of them got to the doors that would take them inside the chapel. Angela opened the doors and stood to the side.

Meanwhile in the anteroom to where the grooms were to be before the wedding, Seeley entered with Brian. When he turned around, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Caroline, what are you doing here?” Seeley questioned.

“I’m here to marry you, Cherie,” the prosecutor stated. “Besides, I want to do this for two of my best people. I knew a long time ago that you were meant for each other so I stepped in to do this. I also want to marry my first gay couple. Hi, I’m Caroline Julian, Prosecutor for the District of Columbia.”

“Brian Kinney,” Brian replied as he shook her hand.

“But why us?” Seeley asked.

“When I saw on the docket your name and Dr. Brennan‘s, I jumped at the chance,” Caroline stated. “Besides, I hold a Justice of the Peace certificate.”

“Thank you,” Seeley replied.

“You mean to tell me,” Brian began, “that you never married a gay couple?”

“No, Cherie,” Caroline said. “You will be my first.”

“Then I feel special,” Brian replied. “Miss Julian, Justin and I have vows for each other.”

“Okay, now let’s go get you both married,” Caroline stated.

Billy got between the two brides and they each took an arm. He then proceeded down the aisle.

Brian and Seeley were standing with Caroline on the dais. When they heard the door open, both smiled at their respective partners.

“When did this happen?” Brian asked.

“That’s the way Billy is,” Seeley stated. “He’s old tradition and believes that tradition should be followed.”

When Billy got to the dais, he handed Tempy over to Seeley and Justin over to Brian then stood off to the side.

Tempy smiled at Caroline as she stood beside Seeley.

“Who gives these brides to these men?” the Caroline asked.

“I do,” Billy replied and then went to sit beside Angela and Jack. He then took Michael, his grandson, and sat him on his lap. Billy loved the little tyke. Briana was sitting on Jack’s knee. The children were staying at Jack and Angela’s place for the night.

Tempy and Seeley stood before the woman who was to marry them with Brian on Seeley’s side and Justin on Tempy’s side. They exchanged the traditional vows and placed rings on their partners then kissed. The four of them moved until Brian and Justin stood before the Justice.

“I hear that you have vows to say to each other,” Caroline replied.

Brian and Justin turned to each other with their hands clasped. Brian smiled at Justin and nodded.

“Well,” Justin began, “I can’t believe that we made it here in front of our new friends and some old. Brian, I want to thank you first for loving me. I knew it the first night we spent together. We’ve had our difficulties to last a lifetime so I just want to say that I will love you until the end of time, forever. When you proclaimed you loved me, I was shocked. I never thought I would hear those words from you. You have now spoiled me to hear them again. I, Justin Cole Taylor, take you, Brian Aidan Kinney to be my lawful wedded husband, to love and to cherish for the rest of our days. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.” A tear made its way down his cheek.

Brian heard a sniffle amongst their guests and turned his head in time to watch Emmett wipe a tear away.

“Justin,” Brian began to say, “when I saw you standing under that lamp post I thought that my life had changed for the better. The first night we spent together was more than I could have imagined. I think the day that I realized I loved you was the night that bomb went off. I thought I lost you forever but then you showed up at Em’s and I thought you were a ghost. I don’t want to go through that ever again. I love you with all my heart and soul. I, Brian Aidan Kinney, take you, Justin Cole Taylor to be my lawful wedded husband, to love and to cherish for the rest of our days. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.”

They exchanged rings. 

“I now pronounce you life partners,” Caroline stated. “You may kiss your husband.”

Brian and Justin stood looking into each other’s eyes. You could see the love flow through them as their lips connected. They kissed as if they were the only two people in the room until Brian heard someone clear their throat. He then broke the kiss and looked over Justin’s shoulder. Brian saw Tempy smirk then he looked to Seeley behind him who had a smile pasted on his face.

“Sorry,” Brian whispered. He took Justin’s hand into his and turned to face their friends and new family. Brian then turned to Seeley. He showed with his hand that he and Tempy should go first.

Seeley took Tempy’s hand into his and proceeded down the aisle. Then Brian and Justin followed them. 

When the two couples exited the building, there before them was a white carriage with two white horses.

“Your carriage, my good people,” the chauffeur said as he stood to the side with the door open.

As the couples ran down the stairs, people threw rice at them from behind. When they all got into the carriage, Brian noticed there was a bottle of champagne in a bucket near them. He poured a small glass for each of them. 

Seeley noticed their other friends coming down the stairs and stopping before the carriage.

“I want to thank you all for doing this with us,” Seeley said as he rose. 

“I would like to second that,” Brian stated. “We wouldn’t have gotten here without you all.”

They both sat down and the carriage left the chapel. The two couples went on a ride through the city until they came up to the house of Seeley and Tempy’s. All four got out of the carriage. Before they entered, the door opened with the butler on the other side.

Seeley looked to Brian and smiled. He picked up Tempy behind the knees and back then proceeded carrying her over the threshold.

When Brian saw the smile from his best friend, Brian did the same to Justin. Justin squealed and swatted Brian on the chest.

“This is for them,” Brian whispered. “I’ll do this again when we get home.”

Justin nodded and kissed Brian’s cheek.

The two couples entered the house. Brian and Seeley deposited their spouse’s inside the foyer. The butler showed them to the living room where champaign flowed freely. They all sat down to a delightful dinner with their new friends and family before the two couples were whisked away to change into traveling clothes.

Emmett showed Justin and Tempy to chairs in the living room where they proceeded to open their gifts. Brian and Seeley stood behind them. After they opened their presents, Seeley and Brian stood before their friends.

“I would like to thank you all for coming to this festive occasion. Without you all we wouldn’t have gotten here,” Seeley replied then turned to Brian. “I want to thank my best man, Brian, for standing up with me. You have become the brother that I can count on.”

“I would like to thank my new friends and family for being here,” Brian began. “This is a new life for Justin and I and I hope it will be a better one. I also would like to thank you, Seeley, for being my best man. When I first saw the love you had for Tempy, I knew then that I had the same feelings for Justin. I have always considered you my brother.”

“Now we need you to get out of here,” Jack replied. “You have a plane to catch.”

Tempy looked at Justin and smiled. She never told the young blond where they were going.

The two couples were then whisked again outside into a waiting limo. When they all entered, there was more champaign waiting for them.

“Now,” Justin started to say, “where are we going?”

“I thought you would like a trip to Milan,” Tempy said.

“You got to be kidding me?” Justin said excitedly.

“No,” Seeley stated. “You can visit the museums, Brian can go shopping and Tempy and I are going to a dig site. She was asked a few weeks ago to help out so we decided we would work and you two can have the honeymoon.”

“Thanks, Tempy,” Justin replied as he leaned over to kiss her cheek. “How long are we going to be there?”

“Ten days,” Seeley replied. “This will give Tempy time to identify the body they found at the site.”

“Would you mind if I came along on one of the days?” Justin asked.

“I can’t see why not,” Tempy answered. “Why?”

“I could draw you while you both work. Besides, Brian could go shopping on that day without me.” Justin then turned to Brian for his approval.

“I don’t mind that you go,” Brian said. “We could all meet later at the hotel and decide where we go for dinner afterwards.”

“That would be great,” Seeley replied.

So, the two couples went on their honeymoon. Justin enjoyed drawing everything he saw. There were times he sat at an outdoor café and drew people. Then he went with Tempy and Seeley to the dig site while Brian went shopping. 

Brian was in seventh heaven when he saw the new designs of suits that would take at least six months before they arrived in the States. Brian and Justin enjoyed going to the art museums to see the famous artists of Italy. They also loved the quiet romantic walks.

Tempy identified the unknown bones as being that of Bellovesus. This was a great find for Northern Italy. It would mean a new exhibit at the museum.

Seeley also loved spending time with Tempy in the field. He now knew what it was like to excavate at a dig site with the possibility of finding a whole civilization.

All four of them enjoyed being with each other during dinners. It was as if they were all getting a new family in the process.

It was then that they all needed to get back to D.C. This trip made the couples closer to their mates. Seeley saw a new light in Tempy’s eyes as Brian saw a Sunshine smile on Justin’s face. 

When they arrived back in the States, Seeley and Tempy went back to work solving crimes. Seeley suggested to Brian that he set up an office in the main house so that he could work with the Jeffersonian on campaigns. Besides, they would have a library filled with history that Justin could work from with the pictures that would be used in campaigns.

Emmett’s catering business was a great success with Joseph being his assistant. There were many parties with governments that Seeley suggested to Em. His first party with the government led to many more bookings so he ended up having Joseph as his business partner to accommodate the other parties.

THE END


End file.
